Animal Nursing and Patient Care
Animal Nursing and Patient Care
This domain covers the nursing process: physical examination, vital signs, nutrition, fluid therapy, hygiene, and comfort. Items often ask which parameter to monitor or which value is abnormal for that species.
Core rules
- Record temperature, pulse, and respiration at every assessment. Typical adult dog: 100.5–102.5°F, 60–140 bpm (smaller breeds faster), 10–30 breaths/min. Cat: 100.5–102.5°F, 140–220 bpm, 20–30 breaths/min.
- Body condition is scored 1–9; 4–5/9 is ideal. Muscle condition score is recorded separately.
- Maintenance fluid rate for dogs and cats is roughly 50–60 mL/kg/day; deficits and ongoing losses are calculated separately and replaced.
- Catheter sites are checked at least every shift for swelling, pain, redness, and disconnection.
- Pain is assessed with a validated scale and reassessed after intervention, not charted once.
Worked example
A 5 kg cat needs maintenance fluids only: 5 kg × 60 mL/kg/day = 300 mL/day, or 12.5 mL/hr. If the same cat is 5% dehydrated, the fluid deficit is 0.05 × 5 kg = 0.25 kg, equivalent to 250 mL, replaced over the first 24 hours - adding about 10 mL/hr.
Traps
- Treating a single abnormal vital sign without repeating it.
- Confusing dehydration (a volume deficit) with hypovolemia (a perfusion problem).
- Overlooking a bandage or catheter site because the patient is quiet.
- Using human reference ranges for animals.